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Some thoughts on the Diversity Hub and Lounge

I just wanted to quickly address some of the questions I've been getting about the Diversity Hub and Lounge and the thinking behind it.

A few months ago when the idea was bouncing around, we reached out to a friend of ours, Benjamin Williams (co-founder of Queer Geek and GaymerX) to help with the concept and execution. Together, we've been working to create something that both celebrates and raises awareness of different, underrepresented gamer groups while also encouraging attendees to discover where all the different diversity-driven content at the show can be found. (Although we've always had this content at the show, we wanted to give people an easier means of finding it)

Based on feedback from previous shows, it's clear that having a diverse lineup of both content and exhibitors is something folks want, but the reality is that some of those places might not be able to afford a booth. So we carved out a large room at the show in a high traffic area that highlighted some of these great organizations and offered tables to them for free.

Some of the criticism I've been hearing is that this isolates these groups and tries to shine an uncomfortable spotlight on them. Although I can see how some might see it that way, the goal is to actually drive awareness and even celebrate the groups and their goals. We felt that by unifying the groups, it created a really strong, positive focal point that would attract people to it, similar to how the Indie Megabooth does on the show floor. That said, if it doesn't work out the way we'd like it to or if it doesn't have the right vibe, we're flexible enough to do things differently for future shows.

The fact is that this discussion is already ensuring that the area won't be ignored, which I think is great. I really do hope people understand that we are constantly trying to make the show better.

I also want to make clear that we have always strived to make the ENTIRETY of PAX a safe place via our policies, our content, and our dedication to our attendees. The Diversity Hub and Lounge isn't meant to say the rest of the show isn't diverse or safe - it's meant to highlight, educate and celebrate. Thanks all!

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If I can ask: Is there any idea (at this point) as to how it will be decided who is part of this area? Will it be chosen by PAX staff, or will submissions be accepted (in a similar way to panels)? Will it only be open to companies, or will community groups/individuals also be able to have some actually planned part?

To clarify: I ask as part of a group of people who have done trans-related panels at various PAX events since PAX East 2012.

I slept on it and while I was initially pretty weirded out I'm willing to give this a shot. Is it going to be one area or spots over the whole con floor? How are you going to "enforce" to make Sure it stays a safe place? A problem with these sort of good intentions, and unfortunately I can see this happening, is that "straight white males" are going to either dominate the conversation or make it somehow about them.

@rainfall no, we would never force a group to be in the hub and lounge, however it *IS* really tough to get space on the show floor at this point (waiting lists, previous year precedent, etc), so hopefully this actually helps, not hurts, that process for these groups.

I slept on it and while I was initially pretty weirded out I'm willing to give this a shot. Is it going to be one area or spots over the whole con floor? How are you going to "enforce" to make Sure it stays a safe place? A problem with these sort of good intentions, and unfortunately I can see this happening, is that "straight white males" are going to either dominate the conversation or make it somehow about them.

I have no doubt that there will be the appropriate [E] presence to make sure this is not an issue.

My personal feeling is that it is a good step forward for the gaming community at large for a prominent, high-profile event such as PAX to be seen to be taking forward leaning inclusive steps to address the negative elements of our community.

I really want change.

But change doesn't just happen. You have to affect change in order for it to happen. Shift the rhetoric. Get the message out.
Doing nothing achives nothing. This gives voice to the disenfranchised, highlights the issue for the community at large, and allows us to embrace what we might want the gaming community to be.

This isn't the end of the journey.

But it's a positive move in the right direction. At least, that's what I want it to be.

My personal feeling is that it is a good step forward for the gaming community at large for a prominent, high-profile event such as PAX to be seen to be taking forward leaning inclusive steps to address the negative elements of our community.

I really want change.

But change doesn't just happen. You have to affect change in order for it to happen. Shift the rhetoric. Get the message out.
Doing nothing achives nothing. This gives voice to the disenfranchised, highlights the issue for the community at large, and allows us to embrace what we might want the gaming community to be.

This isn't the end of the journey.

But it's a posiive move in the right direction. At least, that's what I want it to be.

i think one of the fundamental problems is that PAX isn't meant to push a particular change, but meant to be a friendly and open space for everyone interested in gaming.

that being said, to make a place open and friendly to all requires making sure that persons aren't targeted, harassed, or belittled for who they are.

it's a fine line. i appreciate PA trying to walk that fine line, rather than avoiding it. i just hope i'm reading the proposal right and inferring that there will be stuff all over PAX, rather than just in one "hub".

The issue is practicality. Obviously in a perfect world, anti-harassment policies would be 100% accurately enforced. But that's just not physically possible.

Criticizing an effort to make a specific section even safer than the base level safety of the entire con, just because they can't immediately do it for the entire space, seems like insisting on the perfect being the enemy of the good.

Doing a good thing to start solving a problem isn't suddenly bad just because it doesn't make the problem vanish immediately.

i just hope i'm reading the proposal right and inferring that there will be stuff all over PAX, rather than just in one "hub".

That seems to be the case; as Khoo says, it's always been there, but there weren't exactly any signposts so it's easy to miss. This should act like a nice signpost. I'm looking forward to visiting the hub/lounge when I head up to Boston next time.

As a physically disabled attendee I've always felt welcomed and even highlighted, thanks to things like the AbleGamers charity display that was up last year. It's good to see them moving even further in that direction. And if they misstep, well, it beats not trying to take a step at all and you can learn from any mistakes you make.

Even though this has been said a few ways, I just wanted to add my voice to this.

The idea of offering a portion of vendor space for free to under represented groups is brilliant a great step forward.

However, the segregating them into one section is a horrible idea and could actually further marginalize them. It is my feeling that they should be spread equally throughout the other vendors/presenters as this gives an actual representation of "Hi, we're part of this culture, too." rather than "We're part of this culture but shoved over here in a corner so you can continue to avoid us if you like, cheers."

Even though this has been said a few ways, I just wanted to add my voice to this.

The idea of offering a portion of vendor space for free to under represented groups is brilliant a great step forward.

However, the segregating them into one section is a horrible idea and could actually further marginalize them. It is my feeling that they should be spread equally throughout the other vendors/presenters as this gives an actual representation of "Hi, we're part of this culture, too." rather than "We're part of this culture but shoved over here in a corner so you can continue to avoid us if you like, cheers."

How would you choose who got to be on the floor? How would you cover the cost of the space being used? How many people do you give a free spot that costs thousands of dollars?

However, the segregating them into one section is a horrible idea and could actually further marginalize them. It is my feeling that they should be spread equally throughout the other vendors/presenters as this gives an actual representation of "Hi, we're part of this culture, too." rather than "We're part of this culture but shoved over here in a corner so you can continue to avoid us if you like, cheers."

It sounds like this section will be in a main high-traffic area, so it won't be "shoved in a corner", I don't think. Which I agree would be terrible.

I honestly don't know whether grouping in a main area will cause issues or not. On the one hand, it seems like a good thing for foot traffic and for general visibility to attendees. That is a pretty big plus for vendors, etc, whose main goal in attending a show like this is to find new customers / meet their current customer base more personally and sell both groups merchandise.

On the other hand, I can see the obvious downside to anything that evokes "let's gather up all these weird / unfamiliar groups and put them on display," intended or not.

I wonder if some sort of opt-in/opt-out system for the hub/lounge part while still inviting folks free of charge would be possible.

I slept on it and while I was initially pretty weirded out I'm willing to give this a shot. Is it going to be one area or spots over the whole con floor? How are you going to "enforce" to make Sure it stays a safe place? A problem with these sort of good intentions, and unfortunately I can see this happening, is that "straight white males" are going to either dominate the conversation or make it somehow about them.

I have no doubt that there will be the appropriate [E] presence to make sure this is not an issue.

The problem with this sort of response is that a large number of [e] are straight white cis males, which is not meant as a condemnation but simply a statement of fact; but I gather from the PAX forum thread that there's going to be some kind of special E training before someone can work this area, which would be good.

Even though this has been said a few ways, I just wanted to add my voice to this.

The idea of offering a portion of vendor space for free to under represented groups is brilliant a great step forward.

However, the segregating them into one section is a horrible idea and could actually further marginalize them. It is my feeling that they should be spread equally throughout the other vendors/presenters as this gives an actual representation of "Hi, we're part of this culture, too." rather than "We're part of this culture but shoved over here in a corner so you can continue to avoid us if you like, cheers."

How would you choose who got to be on the floor? How would you cover the cost of the space being used? How many people do you give a free spot that costs thousands of dollars?

It just can't happen like that.

Is this about a financial issue or a social issue? That's a weird answer Langly.

I bolded a part of erispants' post that best covers what made me critical about this idea. A part of me would rather that those running PAX make a better effort to enforce a better environment, which I guess would mean asking / telling people to leave an area or the expo altogether (which is understandably awkward as hell). A lot of people that this diversity hub is meant to aid (that I know or am just a degree removed from) have been weirded out and a few hostile toward the idea. Which isn't to say it's everyone, I know plenty of folks are into this. But maybe it would've been best to meet with the people this intends to benefit and have them help coordinate its operation / setup prior to setting it up for them.

Even though this has been said a few ways, I just wanted to add my voice to this.

The idea of offering a portion of vendor space for free to under represented groups is brilliant a great step forward.

However, the segregating them into one section is a horrible idea and could actually further marginalize them. It is my feeling that they should be spread equally throughout the other vendors/presenters as this gives an actual representation of "Hi, we're part of this culture, too." rather than "We're part of this culture but shoved over here in a corner so you can continue to avoid us if you like, cheers."

How would you choose who got to be on the floor? How would you cover the cost of the space being used? How many people do you give a free spot that costs thousands of dollars?

It just can't happen like that.

Is this about a financial issue or a social issue? That's a weird answer Langly.

I bolded a part of erispants' post that best covers what made me critical about this idea. A part of me would rather that those running PAX make a better effort to enforce a better environment, which I guess would mean asking / telling people to leave an area or the expo altogether (which is understandably awkward as hell). A lot of people that this diversity hub is meant to aid (that I know or am just a degree removed from) have been weirded out and a few hostile toward the idea. Which isn't to say it's everyone, I know plenty of folks are into this. But maybe it would've been best to meet with the people this intends to benefit and have them help coordinate its operation / setup prior to setting it up for them.

It's inherently a financial issue? Like, how is that a question? It is both financial and social.

Booth spots cost around Twelve Thousand Dollars. That is not a cost that PA just makes up to make money. PA does not run the logistics of PAX, a different company does.

How many booths would you have them give out, for free? One? Two? Three? How do they choose who gets this scholarship? That's an entirely different set of problems and criticisms for who they choose and who they say no to.

Instead, they recognize that most of these outfits are not able to purchase a booth, so they make a space that is free, that is a highlight of the issues, that serves as a hub. How is that not an entirely better decision?

A few months ago when the idea was bouncing around, we reached out to a friend of ours, Benjamin Williams (co-founder of Queer Geek and GaymerX) to help with the concept and execution. Together, we've been working to create something that both celebrates and raises awareness of different, underrepresented gamer groups while also encouraging attendees to discover where all the different diversity-driven content at the show can be found. (Although we've always had this content at the show, we wanted to give people an easier means of finding it)

Even though this has been said a few ways, I just wanted to add my voice to this.

The idea of offering a portion of vendor space for free to under represented groups is brilliant a great step forward.

However, the segregating them into one section is a horrible idea and could actually further marginalize them. It is my feeling that they should be spread equally throughout the other vendors/presenters as this gives an actual representation of "Hi, we're part of this culture, too." rather than "We're part of this culture but shoved over here in a corner so you can continue to avoid us if you like, cheers."

How would you choose who got to be on the floor? How would you cover the cost of the space being used? How many people do you give a free spot that costs thousands of dollars?

It just can't happen like that.

Is this about a financial issue or a social issue? That's a weird answer Langly.

I bolded a part of erispants' post that best covers what made me critical about this idea. A part of me would rather that those running PAX make a better effort to enforce a better environment, which I guess would mean asking / telling people to leave an area or the expo altogether (which is understandably awkward as hell). A lot of people that this diversity hub is meant to aid (that I know or am just a degree removed from) have been weirded out and a few hostile toward the idea. Which isn't to say it's everyone, I know plenty of folks are into this. But maybe it would've been best to meet with the people this intends to benefit and have them help coordinate its operation / setup prior to setting it up for them.

It's inherently a financial issue? Like, how is that a question? It is both financial and social.

Booth spots cost around Twelve Thousand Dollars. That is not a cost that PA just makes up to make money. PA does not run the logistics of PAX, a different company does.

How many booths would you have them give out, for free? One? Two? Three? How do they choose who gets this scholarship? That's an entirely different set of problems and criticisms for who they choose and who they say no to.

Instead, they recognize that most of these outfits are not able to purchase a booth, so they make a space that is free, that is a highlight of the issues, that serves as a hub. How is that not an entirely better decision?

Well I mean, not to suggest it is easy work, but amidst the show floor you can plan ahead reserved spacing for the people benefitting from this "scholarship" (probably a good analogy), rather than have them corralled into a single space. (edit - I know it's not a tiny space, that was just quick wording on my part; but the point is everyone is all grouped together)

I dunno, this makes me nervous and I hope it works out for the better. I just understand to some extent where some of the critics are coming from, namely the uncomfortable spotlighting. It makes me wonder if that's the answer.

I slept on it and while I was initially pretty weirded out I'm willing to give this a shot. Is it going to be one area or spots over the whole con floor? How are you going to "enforce" to make Sure it stays a safe place? A problem with these sort of good intentions, and unfortunately I can see this happening, is that "straight white males" are going to either dominate the conversation or make it somehow about them.

Well, your tentative support makes me less leery about giving this a shot.

Even though this has been said a few ways, I just wanted to add my voice to this.

The idea of offering a portion of vendor space for free to under represented groups is brilliant a great step forward.

However, the segregating them into one section is a horrible idea and could actually further marginalize them. It is my feeling that they should be spread equally throughout the other vendors/presenters as this gives an actual representation of "Hi, we're part of this culture, too." rather than "We're part of this culture but shoved over here in a corner so you can continue to avoid us if you like, cheers."

How would you choose who got to be on the floor? How would you cover the cost of the space being used? How many people do you give a free spot that costs thousands of dollars?

It just can't happen like that.

Is this about a financial issue or a social issue? That's a weird answer Langly.

I bolded a part of erispants' post that best covers what made me critical about this idea. A part of me would rather that those running PAX make a better effort to enforce a better environment, which I guess would mean asking / telling people to leave an area or the expo altogether (which is understandably awkward as hell). A lot of people that this diversity hub is meant to aid (that I know or am just a degree removed from) have been weirded out and a few hostile toward the idea. Which isn't to say it's everyone, I know plenty of folks are into this. But maybe it would've been best to meet with the people this intends to benefit and have them help coordinate its operation / setup prior to setting it up for them.

It's inherently a financial issue? Like, how is that a question? It is both financial and social.

Booth spots cost around Twelve Thousand Dollars. That is not a cost that PA just makes up to make money. PA does not run the logistics of PAX, a different company does.

How many booths would you have them give out, for free? One? Two? Three? How do they choose who gets this scholarship? That's an entirely different set of problems and criticisms for who they choose and who they say no to.

Instead, they recognize that most of these outfits are not able to purchase a booth, so they make a space that is free, that is a highlight of the issues, that serves as a hub. How is that not an entirely better decision?

Well I mean, not to suggest it is easy work, but amidst the show floor you can plan ahead reserved spacing for the people benefitting from this "scholarship" (probably a good analogy), rather than have them corralled into a single space. (edit - I know it's not a tiny space, that was just quick wording on my part; but the point is everyone is all grouped together)

I dunno, this makes me nervous and I hope it works out for the better. I just understand to some extent where some of the critics are coming from, namely the uncomfortable spotlighting. It makes me wonder if that's the answer.

Ok I think you are not understanding the idea of the area. They are not on the floor at all.

They cut out a large room in a high traffic area of the con and are giving people tables there for free.

Giving them booth space on the floor for free would exclude a ton of people and be insanely cost prohibitive.

Unless I'm misunderstanding Robert and the document, and by room he means booth space on the exhibit floor

Ok I think you are not understanding the idea of the area. They are not on the floor at all.

They cut out a large room in a high traffic area of the con and are giving people tables there for free.

Giving them booth space on the floor for free would exclude a ton of people and be insanely cost prohibitive.

Unless I'm misunderstanding Robert and the document, and by room he means booth space on the exhibit floor

Actually it'd be helpful to the discussion if Robert could elaborate on what it is; to me it read like they're take a portion of the show floor, rather than using an adjoining room. I would hope it is indeed on the floor.

The floor seems like the worst place to serve as an area where conversations happen, and an even worse place to serve as a "lounge." The stated goal is for tables to be put up and to have a safe space for discussion and a free area to promote art.

The exhibit floor is a madhouse, with walls of people and the largest booths are small affairs.

Not being on the floor would mean a larger space as well as the sort of environment you would actually want to achieve the goal of the proposal.

Ok I think you are not understanding the idea of the area. They are not on the floor at all.

They cut out a large room in a high traffic area of the con and are giving people tables there for free.

Giving them booth space on the floor for free would exclude a ton of people and be insanely cost prohibitive.

Unless I'm misunderstanding Robert and the document, and by room he means booth space on the exhibit floor

Actually it'd be helpful to the discussion if Robert could elaborate on what it is; to me it read like they're take a portion of the show floor, rather than using an adjoining room. I would hope it is indeed on the floor.

I wouldn't. Have you ever been to PAX? You wouldn't be able to hear a damn thing and in fact it'd just get lost in the midst of the chaos on the main floor, and the goals of highlighting and educating would not be achievable.

The problem with this sort of response is that a large number of [e] are straight white cis males,

I'm not sure this is actually a problem. A HUGE number of LGBTQ straight allies are cis gender males.

There are also a ton of female identifying enforcers. (As a female identified enforcer myself, I can assure you I do not feel like a minority at any [E] event, especially PAX)

Also, keep in mind the Diversity HUB is not just a LBGTQ space, it is also for women, people of color, disabled persons and mental health issues. When you consider all the different groups it encompasses, having cis gender straight men there also makes sense.

Lastly, it's worth mentioning that Enforcers have some say in which department they are placed. No one is forced to work in a department they are uncomfortable with or unable to perform the duties required of it for any number of reasons.

The groups in question are not being forced to use the space in question, so really it's not like they are being involuntarily spotlighted. If nothing else it'd be a brilliant opportunity for an advocacy group or two to get in there and educate folks.

What I don't get is that people iterate that the solution to this stuff is education, yet when a proposal comes along that is designed to facilitate that, suddenly it's "uncomfortable spotlighting."

Well, you aren't going to further the education goal by burying these groups among the expo where they will go overlooked because they likely do not have the funds to dress their space up to attract any attention away from their neighbors, OR by making the groups hard to find among the floor. As a first attempt, centralising things and creating a one-stop information/education space seems like a reasonable experiment.

Shit, the hub could even be a place where other diverse groups who are not in the hub can drop off a note and be like "hey this is where we are in this massive expo that spans 7 floors and 4 satellite locations can you please direct people to us if they are curious to learn more about us?"

If QUILTBAG groups don't want to be represented in such a space, there are certainly other marginalised groups that I would imagine would make good use of the exposure. Mental health, for example, to increase awareness, combat cyberbullying, etc. Women's rights, to share information and address all the tropes around girls who are in and around the industry and interest. Disability and thus access / ability to play games. Etc. Surely there are groups under sexuality and gender identity banners that could also make good use of such a prominent space, especially for the reasons of advocacy.

Wouldn't it be great if some of the developers stopped by the hub to pick up some feedback about where these groups see themselves as fitting into mainstream gaming? And wouldn't it be great if the developers knew where to go to find these groups given that they have time-poor schedules themselves?